After months of election build-up, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton now have the chance to make their case to voters on the campaign trail.
Both leaders take part in the first full day of election campaigning on Saturday, a day after the prime minister announced May 3 as the date Australians head to the polls.
Mr Albanese is set to spend the day campaigning in Brisbane, with Labor looking to gain ground in Queensland where it holds five of the 30 electorates.
The prime minister has spruiked stability amid global uncertainty in his pitch to voters, as well as cost-of-living measures such as tax cuts and an increase in bulk-billed GP appointments.
“We do not need to copy from any other nation to make Australia even better and stronger. We only need to trust in our values and back our people,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“Now is not the time for cutting and wrecking, for aiming low, punching down or looking back. This is a time for building.”
In an election dominated by the cost of living, the opposition will use the first day of campaigning to emphasise its own relief measures.
The coalition has put forward plans to halve the fuel excise and establish an east coast gas reservation to lower power prices.
“Australian families need relief now, and we must do better, and there is a better way, and the coalition has an achievable plan to get our country back on track,” Mr Dutton said upon launching the coalition campaign in Brisbane.
“We’re going to make our suburbs and our towns safer, and we’re going to make sure that we have a focus on border security once again, and we’ll improve health care.”
Labor holds 78 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, and would lose majority government if it has a net loss of three seats.
The coalition will be looking to boost its fortunes from the 57 electorates it holds to reach the majority required of 76.
The Greens are also looking to build on their 2022 electoral success, where they won four seats in the lower house.
Party leader Adam Bandt will hold a rally in Brisbane on Saturday as the party aims to retain the three electorates it won in Queensland.
“Peter Dutton is bringing Trump-style politics to Australia, and the Greens will stop him,” Mr Bandt said.
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